After the councillor Nasser Zeaiter, who came under pressure in the Hezbollah affair, first had to admit personal contacts with leaders of the terrorist organisation, which is banned in Germany, and then resigned from the Green Party, the latter finally managed to ask him to resign from his council mandate and the chairmanship of the council on migration and integration. Even though the statement by the party and parliamentary group leadership of the Mönchengladbach Greens did not show any real awareness of the problem and was only aimed at maintaining the party’s own parliamentary group strength, the Junge Union explicitly welcomes its objective:
“Anyone who has contacts with leading terrorists and also stages these connections in the social media for publicity purposes disqualifies himself for any political mandate,” said JU district board member Roderich Busch. “The council for integration fulfils an important social function, which must not be burdened by such connections under any circumstances. For this reason, Nasser Zeaiter’s immediate resignation from all offices is more than overdue.”
If Zeaiter’s resignation from the parliamentary group remains unchanged while he retains his seat on the council, this is probably due to material reasons. Although politically completely meaningless, Zeaiter would still be able to receive the corresponding expense allowances totalling more than 25,000 euros for another four and a half years.
Furthermore, it should not go unmentioned that Nasser Zeaiter’s second deputy, Zeina Wehbe, is also an active member of the controversial Al-Ghadir Association and also acted as deputy chairperson there for many years. Her role must therefore also be critically questioned in this context and examined for possible entanglements in order to push for a replacement in her position as well, if necessary.
“Since, according to Interior Minister Reul, the problems of the Al-Ghadir Association and its protagonists had already been well known to Lord Mayor Heinrichs since December, it remains a mystery to any sincere democrat why this scandal was apparently swept under the carpet at first. swept under the carpet. We call on you, Mr Heinrichs, as well as the parliamentary group chairmen Jannan Safi, Dr Boris Wolkowski and Nicole Finger, to finally take action. Put an end to this deplorable charade when Nasser Zeaiter, as announced, asks for a vote of confidence in the Council of Integration and clear the way for deputies with a real sense of democracy, religious peace and integration.” Lukas Joeckel, JU Mönchengladbach candidate for the executive CDU district executive, concluded.